THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Moses, revered as a wise leader and sacred mystic, instructs us in Deuteronomy to be cautious: "Beware of offering your burnt offerings in every place that thou seest; but in that place only which the Lord shall choose... in one of thy tribes, offer your burnt offerings, and do all that I command thee... But whenever thy soul desires, thou mayest kill and eat, with the blessing of the Lord thy God, the meat which he hath given thee, in all thy dwellings: the unclean and the clean may eat it as a chamois, and as a deer: but thou shalt not eat the blood: thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water" (Deuteronomy 12:13-16).
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Therefore, the guilt and condemnation faced by a sinful soul stems from the audacity to offer sacrifices outside of God's appointed place, where the sacrament of Christ should be administered.
Palladius. You have spoken well; please clarify: the law prohibits the consumption of blood, and rightly so; what is the interpretation of this command?
Cyril. If you wish, let us also explore what is stated in the book of Leviticus, which says: "If any man of the house of Israel or of the stranger that dwelleth among you eat any blood, I will turn my face upon the soul of him that eateth blood, and I will destroy her out of her people: for the soul of the body is in blood, and I have appointed it unto you for an altar to purify your souls: for this blood purifieth the soul: wherefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that dwelleth among you eat blood. If any of the children of Israel, and of the stranger that dwell among you, catch a beast or a bird to eat, he shall let its blood run out, and cover it with earth: for the soul of every body is its blood; it is its soul: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not eat blood of any body: for the soul of every body is its blood: whosoever shall eat thereof shall be destroyed" (Lev. 17:10-14). Notice how blood is explicitly associated with the soul.
Palladius. I see your point.
Cyril. Thus, the law distinguishes and separates the blood from those who are being nourished, teaching the true doctrine, which we accept by faith and uphold in our churches, that the rational soul of humanity is immortal and is not corrupted along with mortal bodies at death. Rather, it is liberated and freed from suffering by the Creator, partaking in eternal life: "for in the beginning man was created ‘unto a living soul,’ since God put into him ‘the breath of life,’ as it is written" (Gen. 2:7). To claim that the life-giving force of all creation perishes with the physical body is to do a disservice to that life. On the other hand, we honor wisdom by affirming the soul's immortality, fulfilling the desires of the Creator, in whom "we... live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). This, I believe, captures the essence of the law's provision.